Calli Faith

We received our Pre-Approval from China this morning! It came so fast-we submitted our Letter of Intent on Wednesday, November 28 and got our PA on Tuesday, December 4th!

So we are finally able to introduce you to...

Calli Faith!

Calli's Chinese name is Li Xiao Fei.  We had decided on the name Callie already, but chose to drop the e when we saw that part of her name is Li.  One of the first questions we want to ask is what she is used to being called, and if they can start calling her Calli or not.

One of the very cool parts about getting Calli's file was hearing her birth date. We have been praying very specifically for a baby that is at least one year younger than Cooper. Cooper's birthday is August 31, 2010.  When Logan called to say she had a referral for us, she said that the baby's birthday was August 31, 2011.  Exactly one year to the day after Cooper's! Pretty awesome answer to prayer.

So, Calli is now 15 months old.  She has been at the orphanage since she was 2 months old (approximately) and we think that she may currently be in a foster home. We are trying to get some of that information soon.

Calli's special need is that she has congenital cleft lip and palate.  We have the option of having her first surgery done soon in China or of waiting until she is home with us.  She will have to have several corrective surgeries as she grows, and we will begin seeing specialists about this when she is home. We have actually already been in contact with a cleft lip and palate specialist regarding what we want to do about this first surgery.

Her file was just full of the sweetest details about her.  As it is all we have right now, we love reading it over and over and just stare at the four pictures we have of her. We loved hearing that her favorite thing is to be cuddled, that she likes to be warm (like her mama), that she is active and extroverted, she has a "ready smile," likes colorful rag dolls, has a good appetite, is not picky about food, and that she is a sound sleeper.

The last paragraph of her file is a section titled "Our Wishes." This is such a sweet note from whomever her caregivers are right now. They say that Calli is a quiet and lovely child. Their hope is that she will be adopted by a family who will give her a good education and will help her grow happily and healthily. They ask to be informed of her growth through notes and pictures, and they invite her to come back at anytime to the Child Welfare Institute "where she used to be raised."

Isn't that amazing?! It is obvious to us that Calli is very well-loved right now, which is something that we have been praying a lot! Her caregivers love her enough that they have wishes and hopes for her specifically, and they want to see pictures of her as she grows. We are so thankful for the people who are loving and caring for our daughter right now.

We told the girls about Calli and showed them her picture the day we accepted her referral. They are just so excited about her and can't wait to go get her! They aren't too happy about the fact that Randy and I are not taking them with us, but when we tell them they will be with their grandparents, that makes everything better. I have overheard Kendall telling her friends about Calli and that she has a boo-boo on her lip but it's ok, the doctors are going to fix it and she won't even feel it because she will be asleep. :) The first thing Cooper said when we showed her Calli's picture was "Her has no pants?" The picture is just of her face. :) Then she said, "Her has a boo-boo on her mouth?" Randy explained that she did and that when we bring her home the doctors will fix it. They pray for Calli all the time and love to talk about how when she is going to bed, we are getting up and when we are going to bed, Kendall prays that Calli would "have a great day today." We just love their sweet hearts for their new sister.

So one of the things PA means is that we are allowed to send care packages to Calli! And along with the care packages, we can send a list of questions and request updated pictures. We are looking forward to doing this very soon!!